CN111730976A

CN111730976A - Printing apparatus and printing method

Info

Publication number: CN111730976A
Application number: CN202010163983.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 山崎修一
Original assignee: Casio Computer Co Ltd
Current assignee: Casio Computer Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-25
Filing date: 2020-03-10
Publication date: 2020-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-10
Also published as: CN114103458B; CN111730976B; US11745499B2; JP7251574B2; US20200307181A1; JP2020156605A; US11007776B2; JP6919671B2; US20210237432A1; CN114103458A; JP2021176707A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method. The printing device is provided with: a print head that performs a1 st operation of ejecting ink from nozzles onto a print medium while moving in a1 st direction, and a 2 nd operation of moving by a feed amount of a size in a 2 nd direction of 1 block when dividing the nozzles into a plurality of blocks in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction; and a processor that determines which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode to print in based on a position of the print medium and a size of the block in the 2 nd direction, wherein in the 1 st mode, a print start position of the print head is set such that positions in the 1 nd direction of boundaries of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzles coincide with a position in the 2 nd direction of an end portion on a back side in the print area, and in the 2 nd mode, the print start position of the print head is set such that positions in the 1 nd direction of boundaries of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzles coincide with a position of an end portion on a near side in the print area.

Description

Printing apparatus and printing method

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority from japanese patent application No. 2019-56922 (application 3/25/2019), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The disclosure of the present specification relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method.

Background

As one of the printing apparatuses of the ink jet system, as disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 2001-2531, there is known an apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium while moving a nozzle. In this printing apparatus, printing is performed on the entire printing medium by repeating a1 st operation of ejecting ink onto the printing medium while moving the nozzles in a1 st direction and a 2 nd operation of moving the nozzles in a 2 nd direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction.

Among the printing systems of the printing apparatus described above, there is a printing system called a sorting (singling) system. In the sorting method, a plurality of nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks in the 2 nd direction, and in the 2 nd operation 1 time, the nozzles are printed while being moved by the size of the 2 nd direction in the 1 block. In the sorting method, since printing is performed on a small area within the printing area by performing printing a plurality of times using different blocks, it is difficult to be affected by nozzle clogging and the like, and high-quality printing can be performed.

However, in the sorting method, when printing is performed near the end portion in the 2 nd direction in the printing region, a part of the nozzles is in a state of protruding outside the printing region. Therefore, in the printing device of the sorting system, the movement range of the nozzles with respect to the printable area becomes large, and it is difficult to downsize the printing device.

Disclosure of Invention

An advantage according to one aspect of the present invention is to provide a technique that can reduce a range of movement of a nozzle with respect to a printable area in a printing apparatus, based on the above-described situation.

A printing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a print head that performs a1 st operation of ejecting ink from nozzles onto a print medium while moving in a1 st direction, and a 2 nd operation of moving by a movement amount of a size in the 2 nd direction of 1 block in a case where the nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction; and a processor that determines which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode the print medium is to be printed on based on a position of the print medium and a size of the block in the 2 nd direction, wherein in the 1 st mode, a print start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of boundaries of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks (of the nozzle) in the 2 nd direction coincides with a position of a rear end in a print area in the 2 nd direction, and in the 2 nd mode, a print start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of boundaries (of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks) coincides with a position of a front end in the print area.

In addition, a printing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes: a print head that performs a1 st operation of ejecting ink from nozzles onto a print medium while moving in a1 st direction, and a 2 nd operation of moving by a movement amount of a size in the 2 nd direction of 1 block in a case where the nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction; and a processor that determines which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode the printing medium is to be printed on based on a position of the printing medium, a size of the printing medium in the 2 nd direction, and a printable area, wherein in the 1 st mode, a printing start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of boundaries of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzle in the 2 nd direction coincides with a position of an end portion on a back side in the printing area in the 2 nd direction, and in the 2 nd mode, the printing start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of the boundaries (of the blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks) coincides with a position of an end portion on a front side in the printing area.

A printing method according to an aspect of the present invention is a printing method in which a print head is caused to execute a1 st operation of ejecting ink from nozzles onto a print medium while moving in a1 st direction, and a 2 nd operation of moving by a movement amount of a size in the 2 nd direction of 1 block in a case where the nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction, before the print head is caused to execute the 2 nd operation of determining which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode the print medium is to be printed on, based on a position of the print medium and the size in the 2 nd direction of the block, a print start position of the print head is set in the 1 st mode so that a position in the 2 nd direction of 1 block boundary adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzles coincides with a position in the 2 nd direction of an end portion on a back side in a print area, and in the 2 nd mode, the print start position of the print head is set so that the positions of 1 of the boundaries (of the nozzles) of the blocks (of the plurality of blocks) adjacent to each other coincide with the positions of the front-side end portions in the print area.

In the printing method according to another aspect of the present invention, before the printing head performs the 1 st operation of ejecting ink from the nozzles onto the printing medium while moving in the 1 st direction and the 2 nd operation of moving by the movement amount of the 2 nd direction size of the 1 block in the 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction when the nozzles are divided into the plurality of blocks, the printing head determines which of the 1 st mode and the 2 nd mode is to be used for printing on the printing medium based on the position of the printing medium, the 2 nd direction size of the printing medium, and the printable area, and sets the printing start position of the printing head in the 1 st mode so that the 2 nd direction position of the 1 of the boundary of the blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzles coincides with the 2 nd direction position of the end portion on the back side in the printing area, in the 2 nd mode, the print start position of the print head is set so that the position of 1 of the boundary (of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks) coincides with the position of the near-side end in the print area.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a printing apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the printing apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a main mechanism in the printing apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a printing method of the sorting method.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a restriction on the position of the printable area.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example 1 of a positional relationship between a printable area and a printing area.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example 2 of the positional relationship between the printable area and the print area.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing example 3 of the positional relationship between the printable area and the print area.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing example 4 of the positional relationship between the printable area and the print area.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a print mode in the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed in the printing apparatus.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a1 st example of the mode determination processing.

Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of determining a print mode in the processing according to the flowchart of fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a 2 nd example of the mode determination processing.

Detailed Description

First, a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a printing apparatus 1. Fig. 2 is a side view of the printing apparatus 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing main mechanisms inside the printing apparatus 1. The printing apparatus 1 includes a cover 4 (fig. 2 and the like) that covers a finger fixing member 3 described later when not in use. The directions along the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis shown in fig. 1 are orthogonal to each other, and the direction of the arrow in each axis in fig. 1 is a + direction, and the direction opposite to the arrow is a-direction. In addition, the direction along the Y axis and the direction along the Z axis of fig. 2 coincide with the direction along the Y axis and the direction along the Z axis of fig. 1, respectively, and the direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 3 coincide with the direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 1, respectively.

The printing apparatus 1 shown in fig. 1 to 3 is an example of an ink jet type printing apparatus, and is a nail printer that prints on a predetermined area of a printing medium such as a nail of a hand. The printing apparatus 1 has an opening 201 formed in 1 side surface 2a (hereinafter referred to as "front surface") among the side surfaces of the housing 2. A finger fixing member 3 having an insertion port 301 into which a finger to be a print medium is inserted is provided in an opening 201 of the housing 2. The opening 201 of the front surface 2a of the housing 2 is shaped such that the ink cartridge can be attached to and detached from a holding member 502 disposed in the housing 2, for example. A cover 4 for opening and closing the opening 201 of the front face 2a is attached to the housing 2. The cover 4 is attached to an upper portion of the front face 2a of the housing 2 by a hinge (not shown).

As shown in fig. 3, the 1 st drive unit (1 st carriage) 5 and the 2 nd drive unit (2 nd carriage) 6 are housed in the housing 2. In the housing 2, various electric components, mechanical components of various mechanisms, and the like, which are not shown, are housed.

The 1 st drive unit 5 movably holds the print head 7 in the 1 st direction, and the 2 nd drive unit 6 movably holds the 1 st drive unit 5 in the 2 nd direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction. In the present embodiment, the 1 st direction is a direction along the X axis, and the 2 nd direction is a direction along the Y axis. That is, the front surface 2a of the housing 2 is one of side surfaces which are end surfaces in the Y-axis direction. Here, the print head 7 is integrated with the ink cartridge and is held by the holding member 502 as shown in fig. 3, but may be separate from the ink cartridge. The print head 7 has nozzles for ejecting droplets by ejecting ink, arranged on the lower surface side.

The 1 st drive unit 5 has a guide shaft 501 having the 1 st direction as an axial direction. The holding member 502 holding the print head 7 is attached to the guide shaft 501 by an attachment member 503 in a movable state along the axial direction of the guide shaft 501 (i.e., along the X-axis direction). Although not shown, the 1 st drive unit 5 includes a1 st motor such as a DC motor and a conversion mechanism for converting the rotation of the 1 st motor into the motion in the 1 st direction. The holding member 502 is coupled to a belt of the conversion mechanism, and is rotated by the 1 st motor to move in the 1 st direction. The holding member 502 and the print head 7 are movable, for example, from a position at the rightmost side shown by a solid line in fig. 3 to a position at the leftmost side shown by a two-dot chain line. In addition, although not shown, the 1 st drive unit 5 has an encoder for measuring the position of the holding member 502 (print head 7) in the 1 st direction.

The 2 nd drive unit 6 has

guide shafts

601 and 602 whose axial direction is the 2 nd direction. The 1 st drive unit 5 is attached to the

guide shafts

601 and 602 by the

attachment members

504 and 505 in a state of being movable along the axial direction of the guide shafts 601 and 602 (i.e., along the Y-axis). Although not shown, the 2 nd drive unit 6 includes a 2 nd motor such as a stepping motor and a conversion mechanism for converting the rotation of the 2 nd motor into a motion in the 2 nd direction. The 1 st drive unit 5 is coupled to the

belts

603 and 604 of the conversion mechanism by the mounting

members

506 and 507, and is rotated by the 2 nd motor to move in the 2 nd direction. The 1 st drive assembly 5 can be moved to a forward most position shown in phantom in fig. 3.

The positions of the holding member 502 and the print head 7 of the 1 st drive unit 5 shown by the solid line in fig. 3, that is, the position farthest from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 and farthest to the right, are positions called a home position and the like, and are positions of the holding member 502 when the power of the printing apparatus 1 is turned off or in a standby state where the printing process and the cleaning process are not performed. When the holding member 502 is located at the home position, the nozzles of the print head 7 held by the holding member 502 are covered by a cap member (not shown) provided in the housing 2. This prevents the nozzles of the print head 7 from drying and prevents the ink from evaporating.

When performing the printing process, after the 1 st driving unit 5 moves to the printing start position in the 2 nd direction (the minus direction on the Y axis) on the front surface 2a side of the housing 2, the following operations are repeated: a1 st operation of moving the holding member 502 (print head 7) in the 1 st direction (the + direction on the X axis or the-direction on the X axis); and a 2 nd motion of moving the 1 st drive assembly 5 (print head 7) by a given distance in the 2 nd direction (the-direction on the Y axis) on the front face 2a side of the housing 2. In this case, in the printing apparatus 1, when the nozzles of the print head 7 pass over the nail, which is the print medium, in the 1 st operation, ink is discharged from the nozzles to the nail, and printing is performed on the nail.

Further, the printing apparatus 1 can perform, at a position on the left (rear left side in fig. 3) which becomes the home position of the holding member 502: a cleaning process of discharging ink not used for printing from the nozzles of the print head 7; and a wiping process of removing ink and dust at the nozzle tip by the wiping member and the contact nozzle tip.

As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment performs printing by repeating the following operations: a1 st operation of moving the print head 7 in a1 st direction (direction along the X axis) and discharging ink onto the print medium; and a 2 nd operation of moving the print head 7 in the 2 nd direction (direction along the Y axis). In particular, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment performs printing by controlling the 1 st operation and the 2 nd operation in accordance with a printing method called a sorting method.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a printing method of the sorting method. The direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 4 coincide with the direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 3, respectively.

When printing is performed by the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the print area 10 as shown in fig. 4 is determined based on, for example, the size and position of a print target (e.g., nail). Nail design data (drawing data) selected by a user of the printing apparatus 1 or the like is adjusted to be limited within the printing area 10 based on the size of the printing area 10. Here, the dimension SY in the direction along the Y axis in the print area 10 is a dimension in the direction along the Y axis (2 nd direction) of the nail to be printed. The nozzle group 701 of the print head 7 is formed by arranging at least 1 row or more of nozzles, which are a plurality of discharge holes, in the direction along the Y axis.

When printing is performed by the sorting method, the nozzle group 701 of the print head 7 is divided into a plurality of blocks in the direction along the Y axis, and the movement amount (feed amount) of the print head 7 in the 1 nd operation 2 coincides with the size of the 1 block in the direction along the Y axis. In the example shown in fig. 4, the nozzle group 701 is equally divided into 4 blocks a to D. Here, the blocks D, C, B, and a are arranged in this order from the front surface 2a of the housing 2. When the size of each block in the direction along the Y axis is NB, the size of the ejection area of the nozzle group 701 in the direction along the Y axis is 4 times the size NB, and the amount of movement of the print head 7 in the 2 nd operation 1 time matches the size NB of the block. Here, the 4 blocks A, B, C, D of the nozzle group 701 in the nth operation (n is a positive integer) are defined as blocks An, Bn, Cn, Dn, respectively.

When printing on the printing area 10 is started, the print head 7 moves from the home position to the printing start position on the front surface 2a side of the housing 2. In the case where the 2 nd operation in the printing apparatus 1 is an operation of moving the print head 7 in the direction along the Y axis (the direction of approaching the front surface 2a of the housing 2), the print start position in the direction along the Y axis is determined based on the position Y0 of the end 10F on the far side (hereinafter also referred to as "far side end") as viewed from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 among the

ends

10F, 10N in the direction along the Y axis in the print area 10. In this case, in the 1 st action 1, among the 4 blocks a1 to D1 of the nozzle group 701, printing is performed on the print area 10 only by the nozzles of the block D1 closest to the front surface 2a of the casing 2, and the nozzles of the remaining blocks a1 to C1 are not printed. For this reason, the print start position in the Y-axis direction is determined so that the position along the Y-axis direction of the boundary between the block D1 in the nozzle group 701 and the block C1 adjacent to the block D1 becomes the same position Y0 as the rear end 10F of the print region 10, as shown in fig. 4. The print head 7 moved to the print start position is then moved in the 1 st direction. When the block D1 of the nozzle group 701 passes through the print region 10, the print head 7 ejects ink from the block D1 to the nail, and performs printing on the region PD1 (the 1 st printing on the partial region R1) among the partial regions R1 from the position Y0 to the position Y1 in the print region 10. The position Y1 is a position closer to the front face 2a side of the housing 2 than the position Y0 by the size NB of the block (i.e., Y1 — Y0 — NB).

When the 1 st printing (the 1 st operation) on the partial region R1 is completed, the print head 7 is moved in the direction along the Y axis (hereinafter also referred to as "near") by an amount corresponding to the block size NB as the 2 nd operation. In this state, the 2 nd operation 1 is started. The position of the block D2 in the Y axis direction at this time moves from the same position as the partial region R1 in the 1 st operation 1 to the same position as the partial region R2 on the near side of the partial region R1. Then, the position of the block C2 in the Y axis direction becomes the same position as the partial region R1. When the 2 nd 1 st operation is performed, the region PC2 among the partial regions R1 is printed by the ink ejected from the block C2, and the region PD2 among the partial regions R2 is printed by the ink ejected from the block D2. In the 3 rd 1 st motion, the region PB3 among the partial regions R1 is printed by ink ejected from the block B3, the region PC3 among the partial regions R2 is printed by ink ejected from the block C3, and the region PD3 among the partial regions R3 is printed by ink ejected from the block D3. In this way, ink can be ejected from the block An, the block Bn, the block Cn, and the block Dn in the nth operation 1 to the region PAn, the region PBn, the region PCn, and the region PDn, respectively. In addition, ink may be ejected to the entire printing region 10 or may be partially ejected according to design or the like. The scanning directions of the print head 7 in the odd-numbered 1 st action and the even-numbered 1 st action may be directions along the X axis that are 180 ° inverted from each other, or may be both in the right-to-left direction or the left-to-right direction.

Therefore, when the 2 nd operation and the 1 st operation are repeated, in the partial region R1, the block D1, the block C2, the block B3, and the block a4 pass through the region PD1, the region PC2, the region PB3, and the region PA 41 time, respectively, and the maximum 4 times of printing can be performed on the region where the normal 1-time printing without the sorting method is performed. That is, in the sorting method in which the nozzle group 701 is divided into 4 blocks, the printing of 1 partial area R1 can be performed by dividing 4 different blocks in the nozzle group 701 into 4 times. Similarly, the printing of the other partial regions R2 to R5 can be performed by dividing each of the 4 blocks a to D into 4 times. As described above, by performing printing on 1 partial area by dividing each of the plurality of blocks of the nozzle group 701 into a plurality of times, it is possible to perform high-quality printing without being affected by nozzle clogging or the like. For example, when ink clogging occurs in 1 nozzle of the block C among the blocks a to D, if a certain 1 partial region (for example, the partial region R3) is printed only with the block C, the partial region is affected by the nozzle clogging, and the cross streaks are generated as a whole, and the print quality is deteriorated compared with the other partial regions. In contrast, in the sorting method, although all the partial regions are affected by the nozzle clogging of the block C, since the region printed by the block C is divided into the partial regions R1 to R5, the horizontal lines become short, the influence on each partial region becomes extremely small compared to the case of printing with the block C, and the difference in influence between the partial regions becomes small. Therefore, by performing printing by the sorting method, the difference in print quality between partial areas is reduced, and the print quality as viewed in the entire print area is improved.

In the case of printing in the sorting method, depending on the size of the nail in the Y-axis direction or the designed size in the Y-axis direction, as shown in fig. 4, the size SY of the printing region 10 in the Y-axis direction may not be an integral multiple of the block size NB of the nozzle group 701. In this case, for example, as shown in fig. 4, the partial region R5 on the forefront side of the print area 10 (i.e., the partial region on which printing is completed last) includes the no-data region 11 in which drawing data used for printing is not present. That is, in the example shown in fig. 4, a region having a size ISY (═ 5 × NB) including the non-data region 11 (ink non-ejection region) present on the near side of the print region 10 becomes a substantial print region 12. Therefore, in the example shown in fig. 4, in the first operation 1, the end portion on the front surface 2a side of the housing 2 in the print head 7 is not at a position where the end portion on the near side (hereinafter, also referred to as "near side end portion") 10N is viewed from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 among the

end portions

10F and 10N in the direction along the Y axis in the print region 10, but is in a state where it extends further toward the front surface 2a side of the housing 2 and protrudes 3 blocks B8, C8, and D8 at the maximum from a position YLB (═ Y5) of the end portion of the substantial print region 12.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a restriction on the position of the printable area. The direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 5 coincide with the direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 3, respectively.

In the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in order to prevent the print head 7 from contacting the housing 2, the movement limit of the front surface 2a of the housing 2 when the print head 7 is moved in the Y-axis direction is a position separated from the inner wall of the front surface 2a of the housing 2 by a distance L0 as shown in fig. 5. That is, the limit position of the near-end 13N of the printable region 13 in the printing apparatus 1 is the position of the boundary between the block a and the block B of the nozzle group 701 at which the print head 7 reaches the movement limit in the Y-axis direction. In order to print the entire nail by the printing apparatus 1, the nail 14 needs to be inserted from the insertion port 201(301) so that the entire nail 1401 is positioned in the printable region 13. However, the little finger, the thumb, is shorter than the other fingers, and there is a personal difference in the length of the fingers 14. On the other hand, for downsizing the printing apparatus 1, the distance L from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 to the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 is preferably as small as possible. However, in the printing apparatus 1 of the sorting system, as shown in fig. 4, depending on a printing design or the like, printing may be performed in a state where a substantial printing area 12 includes a non-data area 11 located on the near side of a printing area 10. In such a printing apparatus 1, it is necessary to make the distance from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 to the near-side end 13N of the printable area 13 longer than the distance L shown in the figure.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example 1 of a positional relationship between a printable area and a printing area. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example 2 of the positional relationship between the printable area and the print area. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing example 3 of the positional relationship between the printable area and the print area. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing example 4 of the positional relationship between the printable area and the print area. The direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis in each of fig. 6 to 9 coincide with the direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis in fig. 5, respectively.

The print area 10 shown in fig. 6 is set at a position where the distance between the near-end 10N of the print area 10 and the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 is longer than the block size NB of the nozzle group 701. Here, the printing is started with the position where the boundary between the block D and the block C coincides with the position of the distal end portion 10F of the printing area 10 as the printing start position, and the size SY of the printing area 10 in the Y axis direction is not an integral multiple of the block size NB. In this case, printing near the near-end portion 10N of the print area 10 is performed on a partial area of the print area 10 including the near-end nondata area 11.

In the example shown in fig. 6, the entire substantial printing region 12 including the no-data region 11 is included in the printable region 13. Therefore, the position of the print head 7 at the end of printing is located at the boundary between the block a and the block B, which is located further inward than the near-end 13N of the print-enabled area 13. Therefore, even if the distance L1 from the front surface 2a of the casing 2 to the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 is the same as the distance L shown in fig. 5, the entire printing area 10 can be printed.

However, since the length of the finger varies individually as described above, the entire nail 1401 enters the printable area 13 as shown in fig. 5, for example, but the distance from the base portion of the nail 1401 to the near-side end 13N of the printable area 13 may become shorter than the block size NB. In such a case, for example, as shown in fig. 7, the heel front end portion of the substantial printing region 12 may protrude outside the printable region 13 (the front surface 2a side of the housing 2). Even if a part of the substantial printing region 12 extends outside the printable region 13, printing on the printing region 10 can be performed in a state where the entire printing region 10 is included in the printable region 13. However, when the substantial near-end portion of the print area 12 is positioned closer to the front surface 2a of the housing 2 than the near-end portion 13N of the print area 13, the position of the print head 7 at the end of printing is such that the boundary between the block a and the block B is shifted from the near-end portion 13N of the printable area 13 toward the front surface 2a of the housing 2 by the distance L4. Therefore, a distance L2 from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 to the near-side end 13N of the printable area 13, which is set based on the movement limit of the print head 7 or the like, is longer than the distance L shown in fig. 5. Therefore, in the printing apparatus 1 that performs printing in a state where the non-data area 11 is included in the near side of the printing area 10 in the substantial printing area 12, restrictions on the size of the apparatus, the length of the finger that can be handled, and the like become severe.

However, in the printing apparatus 1, as shown in fig. 4, when the size SY in the direction along the Y axis of the printing region 10 set in accordance with the image data or the like is not an integral multiple of the size NB of the block of the nozzle group 701, it is also possible to perform printing by matching the position of the boundary between the block a and the block B with the position of the near-end 10N of the printing region 10, as shown in fig. 8. For example, the printing apparatus 1 can realize such a printing method by moving the print head 7 from the near side to the far side (in the direction along the Y axis) in the 2 nd operation with the position of the boundary between the block a and the block B being matched with the position of the near side end 10N of the printing region 10 as the printing start position. For example, the printing apparatus 1 moves the print head 7 from the back side to the near side (in the direction along the Y axis) in the 2 nd operation, with a position that is further to the back side than the far side end 10F of the printing area 10 and is at an integral multiple of the block size NB from the near side end 10N of the printing area 10 being set as the printing start position.

In the printing apparatus 1, the boundary between the block a and the block B is not positioned further toward the near side than the near side end 13N of the print-enabled area 13 during the period from the start to the end of printing. Therefore, a distance L3 from the front surface 2a of the housing 2 to the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 can be set to a shortest distance similar to the distance L shown in fig. 5.

However, when the substantial print area 12 includes the nondata area 11 on the back side of the print area 10, as shown in fig. 9, the end portion on the back side of the substantial print area 12 including the nondata area 11 may protrude from the printable area 13. In such a case, for example, the amount of protrusion of the nozzles in the direction along the Y axis (the rear direction) when printing only the block D immediately after the start of printing or immediately before the end of printing is performed is larger than the amount of protrusion when the non-data area 11 is included on the near side of the printing area 10. Therefore, this time, conversely, a space for avoiding contact between the print head 7 and various other components during printing is required on the back side of the printable area 13, and it becomes difficult to downsize the printing apparatus 1.

The printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment alleviates the restriction caused by including the nondata region 11 on the near side or the far side of the printing region 10 in the substantial printing region 12 as described above, and switches the positional relationship (printing mode) between the printing region 10 and the nondata region 11 based on the position of the printing region 10 in the printable region 13.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a print mode in the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment.

The printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment prepares the 1 st mode and the 2 nd mode as shown in fig. 10 as the printing modes when printing is performed by the picking method.

The 1 st mode is the printing mode described with reference to fig. 4 and 6. That is, when printing is performed in the 1 st mode, the print start position in the Y axis direction is determined to be a position at which the position of the block boundary of the nozzle group 701 at the start of printing or at the end of printing coincides with the back end 10F in the print area 10. Therefore, when the size SY in the direction along the Y axis of the print area 10 is not an integral multiple of the block size NB (i.e., the feed amount of the print head 7), when printing is performed in the 1 st mode, the substantial print area 12 is an area including the non-data area 11 on the near side of the print area 10.

On the other hand, the 2 nd pattern is the printing pattern explained with reference to fig. 8. That is, when printing is performed in the 2 nd mode, the print start position in the Y axis direction is determined to be a position at which the position of the block boundary of the nozzle group 701 at the start of printing or at the end of printing coincides with the near-end 10N in the print region 10. Therefore, when the size SY in the direction along the Y axis of the print area 10 is not an integral multiple of the block size NB (i.e., the feed amount of the print head 7), when printing is performed in the 2 nd mode, the substantial print area 12 is an area including the nondata area 11 on the back side of the print area 10.

In the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, for example, when the distance from the near-end 10N of the printing region 10 to the near-end 13N of the printable region 13 is shorter than the feeding amount of the print head 7 in the 2 nd operation (that is, the block size NB of the nozzle group 701), printing is performed in the 2 nd mode. When the distance from the near-end 10N of the printing area 10 to the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 is longer than the feed amount (block size NB) of the print head 7 in the 2 nd operation, printing is performed in the 1 st mode. Thus, regardless of which side of the near side end 10N and the far side end 10F in the print area 10 the nondata area 11 is located, the boundaries of the blocks adjacent to each other in the nozzle group 701 are aligned with each other, therefore, the increase in the amount of protrusion of the nozzle group 701 from the printable area 13 can be suppressed, and as in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when printing all images, the moving range along the Y-axis direction obtained by overlapping the moving range along the Y-axis direction in the 1 st mode and the moving range along the Y-axis direction in the 2 nd mode switched according to the situation, the moving range along the Y-axis direction is shorter than that of the conventional case where all images are printed only in the 1 st mode, the moving range in the Y-axis direction is shorter than that in the case where all images are printed only in the 2 nd pattern.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment.

As shown in fig. 11, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a control unit (processor) 100, a display unit 110, an operation unit 120, an imaging unit 130, a drawing unit 140, a position detection unit 150, and a storage unit 160.

The control unit 100 controls the operation of the printing apparatus 1. The control unit 100 includes a processing circuit such as a CPU (central processing unit), and performs processing in accordance with data such as a program included in a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like as the storage unit 160. The display unit 110 displays, for example, a nail design. The operation unit 120 is used for selecting a nail design, for example. The imaging unit 130 acquires an image of a finger (nail) inserted into the housing 2. The drawing unit 140 includes, for example, the 1 st drive unit 5 and the 2 nd drive unit 6, and prints a desired nail design by controlling ink ejection from the nozzles 71 provided in the print head 7. The position detection unit 150 includes, for example, an encoder, an origin sensor unit, and the like, and detects coordinates of the position of the nozzle 71 (nozzle group 701) as a counter value. In the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, for example, the control unit 100 determines the printing area 10 based on the finger image and nail design data in the printable area 13 acquired by the imaging unit 130, and determines which of the 1 st mode and the 2 nd mode the printing is performed in.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed in the printing apparatus 1.

When the power of the printing apparatus 1 is turned on, the printing apparatus 1 starts the processing shown in fig. 12. The printing apparatus 1 first performs an initialization process (step S1). Immediately after the power is turned on, the printing apparatus 1 does not know the position of the nozzle group 701 of the print head 7. Therefore, the control unit 100 causes the drawing unit 140 to convey the print head 7 in order to detect the origin position, and detects the origin position based on the output from the position detection unit 150. When the origin position is detected, the control unit 100 causes the drawing unit 140 to move the print head 7 to the home position and cover the nozzle group 701. This initialization process is performed even if the nozzle group 701 of the print head 7 is located at the home position immediately after the power is turned on.

Next, when the user of the printing apparatus 1 selects the nail design, the printing apparatus 1 photographs the nail of the user (step S2). The nail design may be acquired by communication from an external device such as a smartphone or a personal computer in accordance with the selection of the nail design, and may be stored as nail design data in the storage unit 160 in the printing apparatus 1. Here, the control unit 100 outputs an imaging instruction to the imaging unit 130, and causes the imaging unit 130 to image the finger (nail) inserted from the insertion hole 301 of the finger fixing member 3. Further, the nail design may be selected after photographing the nail of the user.

When the nail is photographed, the printing apparatus 1 generates image data for printing (drawing) the selected nail design on the nail (step S3). Here, the control unit 100 performs contour detection of the nail or the like based on the nail image acquired in step S2, and generates information on the size and shape of the nail. Further, the control unit 100 adjusts image data obtained by cutting out the nail outside the outline of the nail for the nail design selected by the user based on the information of the nail, and generates image data for printing.

When image data for printing is generated, the printing apparatus 1 performs a mode determination process (step S4). Here, the control unit 100 as the pattern determination unit determines which of the 1 st pattern and the 2 nd pattern the printing is to be performed in based on the nail information and the image data for printing generated in step S3.

When the print mode is determined, the printing apparatus 1 performs the maintenance process (step S5). Here, the control unit 100 causes the drawing unit 140 to sequentially convey the print head 7 to the wiping position and the cleaning position, and performs the wiping process and the cleaning process at each position. Thereafter, the control unit 100 causes the drawing unit 140 to transport the print head 7 to the print start position following the print mode determined in the mode determination process. The control unit 100 determines the print start position based on the information of the nail generated in step S3, the size SY in the direction along the Y axis in the image data for printing, the size NB of the nozzle block, and the print mode (1 st mode or 2 nd mode) determined in step S4.

Finally, the printing apparatus 1 performs a printing process of printing the nail design on the nail (step S6). Here, the control unit 100 controls the ink ejection from the nozzles 71 based on the image data generated in step S3, and prints a nail design on the nails of the fingers placed in the printable area 13.

By performing the above processing, the printing apparatus 1 can print a desired nail design selected by the user on the nail.

The printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment performs a process along the flowchart of fig. 13, for example, as the mode determination process of step S4.

When the mode determination processing is started, the control unit 100 first acquires the outline coordinates of the nail (step S401). The control unit 100 acquires the outline coordinates of the nail included in the nail information generated in step S3. The outline coordinates of the nail may be an X coordinate in the direction along the X axis, a Y coordinate in the direction along the Y axis, a Z coordinate in the direction along the Z axis, or may be only the X coordinate and the Y coordinate.

Next, the control unit 100 calculates the tip position of the nail in the direction along the Y axis from the contour coordinates of the nail (step S402). Here, the control unit 100 calculates, as the tip position of the nail, the coordinate of the outline portion whose position in the Y-axis direction is the innermost position, based on the outline coordinate of the nail.

Next, the control unit 100 calculates a distance da from the back end 13F of the printable area 13 to the tip position of the nail (step S403), and determines whether or not the distance da is equal to or greater than the block size NB of the nozzle group 701 (step S404). When da ≧ NB (YES in step S404), control unit 100 determines the print mode as mode 2 (step S405). On the other hand, if da < NB (no in step S404), the control unit 100 determines the print mode as the 1 st mode (step S406). After determining the print mode in step S405 or S406, the control unit 100 ends the mode determination process. After the mode determination processing is completed, the control unit 100 notifies the drawing unit 140 of the print mode determined in step S4 together with a signal relating to the maintenance processing in step S5. In the above description, the mode is determined as the 2 nd mode when da is NB, but the mode may be determined as the 1 st mode instead.

Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of determining a print mode according to the processing of the flowchart of fig. 13. The direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 14 coincide with the direction along the X axis and the direction along the Y axis of fig. 5, respectively.

When performing the processing following the flowchart of fig. 13, the printing apparatus 1 determines whether or not the distance da from the rear end 13F of the printable area 13 to the tip position of the nail 1401 is equal to or greater than the block size NB of the nozzle group 701. Here, as shown in fig. 14, a case where the distance da is shorter than the block size NB will be described.

When the distance da is shorter than the block size NB, if the substantial printing area 12 is an area including the non-data area 11 on the back side of the printing area 10, the end portion on the back side of the substantial printing area 12 may protrude from the printable area 13 as described with reference to fig. 9. That is, if printing is performed in pattern 2 in the case of da < NB, there is a possibility that the end portion on the back side of the substantial printing region 12 protrudes from the printable region 13. Therefore, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, printing is performed in the 1 st mode when da < NB. As described above, the 1 st pattern is a pattern in which the print start position is set so that the boundary between the blocks adjacent to each other of the nozzle group 701 coincides with the rear end 10F of the print region 10. When the size SY in the direction along the Y axis of the print area 10 is not an integral multiple of the block size NB, when printing is performed in the 1 st mode, the substantial print area 12 is an area including the no-data area 11 on the near side of the print area 10 as shown in fig. 4 and the like.

In order to alleviate the restriction caused by the difference in length of the fingers 14 and the like, the size of the print-enabled area 13 in the direction along the Y axis is made to have a margin of about 2 times to 3 times as compared with the size of the average nail 1401 which is the print target. Therefore, when the distance da is shorter than the block size NB, as shown in fig. 14, the distance db from the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 to the root portion of the nail 1401 is longer than the block size NB of the nozzle group 701. Therefore, when da < NB is selected as the mode 1, the substantial printing region 12 is allowed to include the non-data region 11 in the front side of the printing region 10, and thus the increase in the amount of protrusion of the nozzle group 701 at the start of printing and at the end of printing can be prevented.

When da ≧ NB, the printing apparatus 1 performs printing in the 2 nd mode. As described above, the 2 nd pattern is a pattern in which the print start position is set so that the boundary between the mutually adjacent blocks of the nozzle group 701 coincides with the near-end 10N of the print region 10. When the size SY in the direction along the Y axis of the print area 10 is not an integral multiple of the block size NB, when the 2 nd pattern is printed, the substantial print area 12 is an area including the nondata area 11 on the back side of the print area 10 as shown in fig. 8 and the like.

When da ≧ NB, the relationship between the size of the block NB and the distance db from the near-end 13N of the printable area 13 to the base portion of the nail 1401 includes a case where db < NB and a case where db ≧ NB. If db ≧ NB is used, the boundaries of the nozzle blocks do not protrude outside the printable area 13 regardless of which of the 1 st and 2 nd modes the printing is performed. However, if db < NB is used, the boundary of the nozzle block will extend outside the printable area 13 when printing is performed in the 1 st mode. Therefore, if db < NB is used, printing in the 2 nd pattern as described above can prevent an increase in the amount of protrusion of the nozzles. This prevents an increase in the amount of protrusion of the nozzle group 701 at the start of printing and at the end of printing even when da ≧ NB.

The mode determination process (step S4) performed by the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the process following the flowchart of fig. 13, and may be another process. The mode determination process may be a process following the flowchart of fig. 15, for example.

In example 2 of the mode determination process, the control unit 100 first acquires the outline coordinates of the nail (step S411). The control unit 100 acquires the outline coordinates of the nail included in the nail information generated in step S3.

Next, the control unit 100 calculates the tip position of the nail and the length of the nail in the direction along the Y axis (step S412). Here, the control unit 100 calculates, as the tip position of the nail, the coordinate of the outline portion whose position in the Y-axis direction is the innermost position, based on the outline coordinate of the nail. The control unit 100 calculates the coordinate of the contoured portion whose position along the Y axis is the most anterior side as the base position, and calculates the distance from the tip position to the base position in the Y axis direction as the nail length.

Next, the control unit 100 calculates the print size ISY based on the length of the nail and the feed length in the direction along the Y axis (step S413). Here, the control unit 100 sets the block size NB of the nozzle group 701 as the feed length, and calculates a length that is equal to or longer than the calculated nail length and has the shortest value among the lengths of the integral multiples of the feed length as the print size ISY. As shown in fig. 4, the print size ISY is a size of the substantial print area 12 along the Y axis.

Next, the control unit 100 calculates a position YLB of the near-end portion of the substantial print area 12 assumed to be picked in the 1 st mode, based on the front end position of the nail and the print size ISY (step S414). When picking is performed in the 1 st mode, the boundaries of the blocks of the nozzle group 701 are made to coincide with the rear end 10F of the printing region 10. Therefore, a position near the rear end of the substantial printing area 12 from the rear end 10F (i.e., the front end position of the nail) by the print size ISY is the position yl b of the front end of the substantial printing area 12.

After calculating the position YLB, the control unit 100 determines whether the calculated position YLB is within the printable area 13 (step S415). When the position YLB is within the printable area 13 (yes in step S415), the control unit 100 determines the print mode as the 1 st mode (step S416). On the other hand, when the position YLB is not within the print-enabled area 13, that is, when the position is further on the near side than the near-side end 13N of the print-enabled area 13 (no in step S415), the control unit 100 determines the print mode as the 2 nd mode (step S417). After determining the print mode in step S416 or S417, the control unit 100 ends the mode determination process.

When the position YLB calculated based on the front end position of the nail and the print size ISY that is an integral multiple of the block size NB is closer to the near side end 13N of the printable area 13, the block boundary of the nozzle group 701 protrudes outside the printable area 13 as shown in fig. 7. In this case, contrary to the example described with reference to fig. 14, the distance da from the tip position of the nail to the rear end 13F of the printable area 13 becomes longer than the block size NB of the nozzle group 701. Therefore, when the position YLB calculated in step S414 is not within the printable area 13, the mode 2 is selected so that the substantial non-data area 11 of the print area 12 is disposed on the back side of the print area 10, not on the near side of the print area 10, thereby preventing an increase in the amount of protrusion of each nozzle group 701 at the start and end of printing.

The case where the position YLB calculated in step S414 is within the printable area 13 includes the case where the distance da from the tip position of the nail to the rear end 13F of the printable area 13 is shorter than the block size NB of the nozzle group 701 (da < NB). Therefore, when the position YLB is within the printable area 13, the mode 1 is selected, and the substantial non-data area 11 of the print area 12 is arranged on the near side of the print area 10, not on the far side of the print area 10, thereby preventing an increase in the amount of protrusion of the nozzle group 701 at the start of printing and at the end of printing.

As described above, according to the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent an increase in the amount of projection of the nozzle groups 701 from the printable area 13 at the start of printing and at the end of printing. Therefore, the range of movement of the print head 7 with respect to the print area 13 in the printing apparatus 1 of the sorting method can be reduced. Therefore, the printing apparatus 1 can be downsized, and the length limit of the finger 14 that can be handled can be relaxed.

The program is stored in the storage unit 160, but may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a USB flash memory, a CD (Compact Disc), or a DVD (digital versatile Disc), in addition to the RAM and the ROM.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the gist thereof. In addition, the respective embodiments can be implemented in appropriate combinations, and in this case, combined effects can be obtained. Further, the above-described embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if several components are deleted from the entire components shown in the embodiments, the problem can be solved, and if an effect can be obtained, the configuration in which the components are deleted can be extracted as the invention.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus is characterized by comprising:

a print head that performs a1 st operation of ejecting ink from nozzles onto a print medium while moving in a1 st direction, and a 2 nd operation of moving by a movement amount of a size in the 2 nd direction of 1 block in a case where the nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction; and

and a processor configured to determine which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode the print medium is to be printed on based on a position of the print medium and a size of the block in the 2 nd direction, wherein in the 1 st mode, a print start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of boundaries of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks (of the nozzle) in the 2 nd direction coincides with a position of a rear end in a print area in the 2 nd direction, and in the 2 nd mode, the print start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of boundaries (of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks) coincides with a position of a front end in the print area.

2. Printing device according to claim 1,

the processor performs:

the method further includes determining to perform the printing in the 1 st mode when a distance from a rear end of a printable area to a rear end of the printable area of the printing medium is shorter than a dimension of the block in the 2 nd direction, and determining to perform the printing in the 2 nd mode when the distance is longer than the dimension of the block in the 2 nd direction.

3. A printing apparatus is characterized by comprising:

and a processor that determines which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode the printing medium is to be printed on based on a position of the printing medium, a size of the printing medium in the 2 nd direction, and a printable area, wherein in the 1 st mode, a printing start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of a boundary of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzle in the 2 nd direction coincides with a position of an end portion on a back side in the printing area in the 2 nd direction, and in the 2 nd mode, the printing start position of the print head is set such that a position of 1 of the boundary (of the blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks) coincides with a position of an end portion on a front side in the printing area.

4. A printing device according to claim 3,

the processor performs:

when the position of the end portion on the front side of the printing area in the 1 st mode is assumed to be within a printable area based on the position of the printing medium and the size of the printing medium in the 2 nd direction, it is determined that the printing is performed in the 1 st mode, and when the position is on the front side of the printable area, it is determined that the printing is performed in the 2 nd mode.

5. A method of printing, characterized in that,

determining which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode is to be used for printing the printing medium based on a position of the printing medium and a size of the 2 nd direction of the block before a1 st action of discharging ink from a nozzle to the printing medium while moving a printing head in a1 st direction and a 2 nd action of moving the nozzle in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction by a movement amount of the 2 nd direction size of the 1 block when the nozzle is divided into a plurality of blocks, setting a printing start position of the printing head in the 1 st mode so that positions of 1 block boundaries of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzle in the 2 nd direction coincide with a position of a rear end in a printing area in the 2 nd direction, and setting the printing start position of the printing head in the 2 nd mode, so that the positions of 1 of the boundary (of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks) coincide with the positions of the front-side end portions in the printing region.

6. A method of printing, characterized in that,

determining which of a1 st mode and a 2 nd mode is to be used for printing on a printing medium based on a position of the printing medium, a size of the printing medium in the 2 nd direction, and a printable area, before a1 st action of causing a printing head to execute a1 st action of ejecting ink from a nozzle onto the printing medium while moving in a1 st direction and a 2 nd action of causing the printing head to move by a movement amount of a size of the 2 nd direction of 1 block in a case where the nozzle is divided into a plurality of blocks in a 2 nd direction intersecting the 1 st direction, setting a printing start position of the printing head so that a position of 1 of a boundary of blocks adjacent to each other among the plurality of blocks of the nozzle in the 2 nd direction coincides with a position of an end portion on a back side in the printing area in the 2 nd direction in the 1 st mode, the print start position of the print head is set so that the positions of 1 of the boundaries (of the nozzles) of the blocks (of the plurality of blocks) adjacent to each other coincide with the positions of the front-side end portions in the print area.